Run PPSS on a Network

PPSS may not be networked for commercial purposes using wireless, serial, parallel or USB methods. These methods should only be used for transferring PPSS data.

You'll need a good local technician. It is of course impossible to visually inspect, configure, test and troubleshoot hardware, connections and software settings.

In addition to the instructions to follow, your computer includes instructions for networking provided by Microsoft as they pertain to your machine specifically. Because there are so many variations of Windows, and because Windows help provides useful links and a network wizard, it may be more convenient to access Windows network help under Start > Help > Networking.

1. Install commercial-grade Network Adapters (Network Interface Cards or NICs) on all PCs. The cards must be high-speed, high-quality cards - not the ones typically installed on PCs for home and Internet use.

Make sure the cards are working properly.

The lights on the NICs (on the back of the computers) should be on when the computers are on.

Click on System in the Control Panel, then Device Manager. (Any exclamation points in a yellow circle indicates a hardware conflict and must be resolved.) Double click Network adapters. Right-click on the adapter. The Device Status Message must read 'This device is working properly'.

On the same screen, click on Power Management and UNCHECK 'Allow this computer to turn off the device to save power.'

If asked during NIC installation, enable DHCP.

6. Configure the router. Make sure DHCP is turned on. (See router instructions.)

Configure the router to assign an IP address to each computer so networks will function correctly. If this option was not made available during NIC installation, DHCP can be enabled in the TCP/IP configuration.

On the Host Computer - Right click on My Computer then click Properties. In Vista, click on 'Remote settings'. In XP or Vista, click 'Computer Name'. Enter Host in the 'Computer description' field and click OK..

On the Host Computer with XP - Click on My Computer then C:, Program Files. Right click on the PPSS folder and select Sharing and Security. Check 'Share this folder on the network'. Leave the 'Share name' as PPSS. Check 'Allow network users to change my files'. Click Apply then OK.

On the Host Computer with Vista - Click on My Computer then C:, Program Files. Right click on the PPSS folder and select Share. In Vista, click on Advanced Sharing. Check 'Share this folder. Click Permissions and check 'Allow' for Full Control, Change and Read.

On the Host Computer - Go to Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center. 'File Sharing' and 'Public folder sharing' must be 'On'. For 'Public folder sharing' choose 'Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open, change, and create files'.

On Remote PCs with XP - Log on to the computer as Administrator. Click Start. Right-click My Computer. Click Properties. Click the Computer Name tab, then Change. If the workgroup name is not WORKGROUP, change the name to WORKGROUP. Enter a name for the computer and click OK.

On Remote PCs with Vista - Go to Control Panel, Network and Sharing Center, View computers and devices. You should see icons for the computer you added and for the other computers and devices that are part of the network.

If Windows logon ID's and passwords have been assigned, make sure that all LOGIN ID's have Administrator access.

8. Test all network computers to make sure that they can access the other computers.

It is essential that the latest and same PPSS version be installed on each computer. Check the version on each computer under Help in PPSS, About PPSS. Please download the latest version from

On the host computer, go to My Computer and navigate to C:\Program Files. Right click on the PPSS folder and choose properties. Click Sharing and check 'Share this folder on the network'. (In Vista, click Advanced Sharing, check 'Share this folder'.) The folder 'Share name' will be PPSS and the path will be \\User-pc\ppss (where 'User-pc' will be your computer's path). Depending on the Windows edition, check 'full access or allow network users to change my files'. This is necessary because PPSS files change as information is changed in PPSS records.

On the same Advanced Sharing screen on the host computer, click on Permissions and check 'Change' (to allow remote computers to change records in the PPSS database). 'Read' should already be checked and should remain checked. Click OK.

Install PPSS on each computer. From remote computers, access the network and navigate to the installation file. Right click on the file and copy. Paste the file onto the remote PC's desktop. Click on the file to start installation.

On the host computer, open PPSS and go to Files, Program Setup, Networks. The location of the PPSS database by default is the PPSS program directory at C:\PPSS. If it is in a different location, check 'find database at this location:' and type the location or use the navigation button to the right of the location field to locate the location. Choose the file named Consignor.dbf to select the database.

On each remote PC, open PPSS and go to File, Program Setup, Networks. Check 'Find database at this location'. Type the location of the PPSS database (or use the navigation button to navigate to the location). If the host computer is named 'Host', for example, the path name would be \\Host\PPSS.

PPSS needs to know each computer on the network. On the host computer, go to File, Program Setup, Networks and click on Manage Locations (at the bottom).

For each computer on the network, enter applicable information for Name, Location, Station, Address, Phone and Manager. Each location can have a number of stations. Station 1 can be clothes. Station 2 can be furniture, etc.

The order in which locations are entered does not matter. The location name and station must be unique and accurate.

On each remote PC, go to File, Program Setup, Networks and under Sales Locations, select a location for each PC in the field named 'This computer's location is'.

A network hub or switch is not the same as a router. A router is needed to facilitate networking. It keeps track of who is who on the network and sends traffic correctly.

Many new routers are configured through the browser. Router documentation explains how. Cisco routers come with extensive documentation. Linksys is a better trouble-free brand. Linksys' setup through the browser is very comprehensible.

The Linksys setup will have DHCP in two places - one for the connection that it makes to the Internet and the other for connection to client computers on the local network. The latter needs to be enabled. In the Linksys configuration, it is only necessary to enable DHCP and specify a starting IP address. Other configuration items on the DHCP page can be left as they are.

Employee Permissions are accessed in PPSS by selecting the Employee Access in the Employees Work Area.

Employee permissions are divided into 3 areas: Point of Sale, Back Office and Management. Each has a check box labeled 'Require These Permissions'. If the box is not checked, permission is not required to access that area. If none of these boxes are checked, employee log in is not required even if employees have been assigned usernames and passwords.

When PPSS starts with no permissions required, it grants full permissions to all areas.

If permissions are required for one or more areas, employees not in the employee database with user name and password will not be able to log in even if permission for some areas is not required.

One employee is required to have access to the Employee Work Area. PPSS will enforce this if the user tries to save the permissions screen without choosing at least one user with this access even if the 'Require These Permissions' box is not checked for the management area.

A username and password can be added to an employee record or they can be assigned when adding a new employee.

PPSS records a change when the change is saved. To avoid loss of data entry, two users must not edit the same record at the same time. One or the other will be lost. To avoid this, each clerk should only access the main database and each should edit different records.

Reports will only show data that has been saved. If a user is entering changes and has not saved them, the changes will not appear in the report.

Requests and updates can be made simultaneously without sharing violations from all the computers on the network.